Page 78 of Reckless Desire

“Paris, darling, where is your date?” Dad kisses her cheek.

“I’m here with Gio.” She rolls her eyes. “Figured I’d spare the family from sharing the table with one of his bimbos.”

“Paris, this is Hunter. Hunter, this is my sister.” I facilitate the introduction as we make our way to the bar.

Half an hour after our arrival and Hunter has been grilled and scrutinized by most of my family. On the way to the bar, we run into Massi and his spouse, Gina. I also manage to give London a quick hug.

We order our drinks, finally alone because everyone got distracted saying hello to other guests.

“So, I’ve met the parents.” Hunter winks at me with mischief.

I can’t help but laugh. “Did you buy the tickets to get it over with in a safe environment with hundreds of other people around?”

“Possibly.” Oh, that smirk is so sexy.

“I’m afraid a quick exchange won’t be enough for Bianca. Knowing her, she’s probably rearranging the name cards at our table to ensure she sits beside you and as far away from me as possible, so she can assess your suitability.”

“I’m sure I can charm her.” He picks up his glass and clinks it against mine.

Shit. Of course he could charm Bianca. He has some experience there. I hadn’t thought about that. About the fact that at this type of society event, he could also run into his former clients.

Before I have a chance to properly freak out, Hunter starts talking to someone he knows and Paris grabs my elbow. “Syd, look who just came in.”

At the entrance stands a man who could totally audition as the next James Bond. Okay, not audition, they should just beg him to take the role. “Who is that… Oh.” Recognition dawns on me. It’s London’s neighbor.

“That’s right. Do you think Lo is going to freak out?”

Something in the way she’s asking feels off. “Do you have anything to do with him being here?”

She looks at me sideways, a face of innocence.

“Oh, Paris, you didn’t. London doesn’t need a distraction like this.”

“He is exactly the distraction she needs.”

Hunter turns back to us. “What’s going on?”

“You don’t want to know.” I chuckle. “We should find our table.” I grab his hand possessively because my insecurities peaked when I realized there might be women here who know Hunter intimately. I know he only talked with most of them, but didn’t he say to me once that’s more intimate? Shit.

We make it through dinner, and I forget about the other women as Hunter twirls me around the dance floor. He leaves my side a few times to talk to people he knows, or to talk to one of my family members, working the room with ease, but the whole time I can sense his burning eyes on me.

Following me. Owning me. Protecting me.

My heart has been swelling with a feeling I don’t want to name, but it feels damn good.

“How have you been feeling?” I ask my sister-in-law, Gina, who is fanning herself at our table.

“Wonderful, but these heels are killing me.”

“No wonder. You’ve been stealing the show on the dance floor. I didn’t know Massi could dance so well.” I look over to where Massi and Gio are talking to Hunter. I hope they’re not making him uncomfortable.

“Something we’ve had in common for a while,” Gina says, her smile suggesting there is a story behind that. I’m sure there is. The two of them have been finding their way to each other through almost two decades of hate and betrayal.

“I need to use the bathroom,” I say, and make my way outside the room to freshen up.

The evening has been a success for London, it seems. And I must admit that joining my family as a guest this year has been really nice. Call me shallow, but for an odd night of glamour, I feel like I belong. Like I’m not the failure.

I know my only achievement is dating a man who could afford the tickets, but still, the sense of belonging after years of loitering on the outskirts is a gift my man gave me. Because somehow he knows what I need, and I can trust he will attempt to deliver.

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